Because of climate change, the basins formed by torrential rivers are under stress. Heavy rains combined with densely urbanized areas are an increasingly frequent threat. A solution are flood water detention basins to be built upstream of cities and industrial districts. However, these artificial basins are the subject of much criticism. A river in north-eastern Italy, the Tagliamento, represents in a paradigmatic way conflict and search for a solution to risk flood. To analyse this water security issue, a dramaturgical approach was chosen. The basic idea is that lack of intervention (actually, a status quo result) depends on regional water authorities’ difficulty to dramatize the issue with appropriate performances, leaving populations within parochial conflicts. The establishment of advisory committees proved insufficient, even if environmentalists and local bodies were involved since the beginning.